Can I ask you two mature fellas a question?
You know I've been around here alot; came back to the RC last year. What you don't know is that I've got serious concerns about following the leadership of a pope I see as progressive, woke, and a globalist. (And that is my issue to figure out; for now, I'm in limbo.) But that's not why I'm here. It's something else ...
I've got serious concerns along those exact lines too. My resolution is to pray for the dude and to pray that his successor be well formed. So far I don't think that pope Francis has messed with infallible teaching. He has made a grand mess though, and it will take more than my lifetime to fix it. But that's not addressing your question.
Earlier this week, I was confronted on CF by a younger, woke, fairly intelligent member. Not agreeing with his progressive moral views, he told me I was a 'hopeless' (something) and a 'prisoner of the past' if I wasn't able to basically evolve and change my views (to his progressive ones).
I bet he called you an 'indietrist', which is to say a 'backwardist'. Wear it as a badge of honor.
What he said didn't bother me ... because I am always hopeful in Christ, and don't see traditional moral values as a 'prison'. So I didn't take offense. But the convo did open my eyes wide to how many on the left, and many of them younger, do see us older folks. We are outdated, to them. 'Hopeless'.
It's not always an age thing. Plenty of twenty-somethings lean traditional and plenty of baby-boomers lean woke. We will be hopelessly outdated to any of the hard left no matter if we are old farts like me or young farts like my grandchildren. We shouldn't reciprocate but should pray for the hard leftists.
The RC in my area continues to really struggle. Two and three parishes continue to unite as one, under one priest. Membership continues to decline; there is a priest shortage, too. But there are two large parishes that continue to thrive. One is definitely progressive Vatican II. The other has signs of traditionalism in it. It is like a contest, watching the membership numbers in both of these big parishes mutually grow from month to month. The race is currently tied!
You both had good experiences in your churches last weekend. Cool! And you both appear not to have caught the woke virus. Very cool! So, within the churches where you go, are there still many non-woke members to be found in them? Or are they 'few and far between', like the media would like to have us believe?
My old parish that I visited last weekend would be unwoke, and yet not TLM, leaning Latin (Kyrie in Greek), leaning traditional, just solid. My new parish would be unwoke too, and not TLM, with an occasional Latin Sanctus, leaning charismatic, and also solid. Both have schools attached, and both have lots of children. Women with veils are uncommon in both, maybe 3% at each, but it's not looked down on. Both allow communion on the tongue but do not require it. My current parish puts a stress on confession, my old one did a drive up confession during Covid. Both have vocations. My old parish has spawned three bishops in my time there, my friend former pastor and now retired bishop LeVoir, former pastor and now bishop Izen, and now bishop Williams that got sent to New Jersey (my kids went to school with the Williams kids at the parish school). My new parish had five seminarians at once, one just ordained now.
I would guess that the woke and the unwoke tend to separate out into woke and unwoke parishes with lots of people still muddling along in muddling parishes. I would recommend staying clear of muddling parishes mostly because you want to be in a parish where you are consistently tugged in a faithful direction.
Pope John Paul II relaxed the rules about attending your geographical parish. He did so because he knew that some parishes were bad news. He basically allowed us to vote with our feet. So feel free. Pick a good parish. Leave the rest behind. Let the dead bury the dead. It's a sad thing to say, but it's true. Not all parishes are wonderful. And the woke virus is spreading. A good parish needs your support. The woke ones shouldn't be getting a dime.
A good bishop is not always easy to find. My archbishop has reached retirement age. And that scares me. Not that he was a great bishop particularly, being more or less OK, but who does pope Francis have in mind for us? Bishop Stowe? Here's where it may make sense to drive to another diocese (just across the river for me) for mass, or even to move. Bishop's matter.
He also sang the entire Liturgy of the Eucharist. It was amazing; it reminded me of the old High Mass from back in the day. 
